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Celeb News: Meeting Ariana, then and now.
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 9,449
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Meeting Ariana, then and now.
I shortened the following thing, you can read the full blog post here.
My experience meeting Ariana Grande.
Quote:
In 2011, Ariana tweeted that she was excited that she would be visiting the Titanic exhibit at the Las Vegas Luxor hotel.
We waited on a bench near the Titanic exit for hours. I read a book while Jen kept her eyes on the gift shop.
“Oh gosh. There she is,” said Jen. She was actually shaking.
We watched from a distance as Ariana, her mom, and one or two other folks paid for their purchases and began to exit. First Ariana stopped to slip on a hoodie she bought in the shop. Then they moved toward the exit. Ariana spotted Jen smiling at her. Jen didn’t have to say anything.
“Hi,” smiled Ari, “Do you want a picture?”
“Yes, please. I’m such a fan of yours. I saw your tweet and hoped I could come down and meet you.”
“Aww, that’s so cool,” replied Ariana, “What’s your name? Check out my new hoodie! Do you like it?”
They chatted for a minute or two, and then posed for a photo. Ari threw up a peace sign. I took the picture.
“Can we do that again, please?” asked Ariana, “I think I probably looked terrible in that one.”
Of course I re-took the photo. Ariana never asked to see or approve of either picture. Jen deleted the first one, without being asked to do so. She did it out of common respect. As they said their goodbyes, Ariana hugged Jen, and Mrs. Joan Grande actually thanked us for coming to meet her daughter. It was a wonderful experience, and Jen has told the world about it for years. Ariana Grande was one of the nicest celebrities we have ever encountered – and between originally living in New York, then Vegas, and our frequent trips to L.A., we have come across a lot of them.
Flash forward to August, 2014. Ariana is a superstar. But surely she is still the same sweet girl where it matters most – in her heart. Maybe, maybe not.
“PEPSI, MTV, AND VH1 ARE GIVING YOU THE CHANCE TO WIN AN AMAZING TRIP TO LOS ANGELES TO HANG WITH ARIANA AND WATCH HER PERFORM LIVE AT THIS YEAR’S (MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS).”
That’s how the contest was advertised. Contestants had to produce some art and say why they loved Ariana so much. They also had to follow and hashtag MTV, VH1, and Pepsi, label it as #ArianaNOW, and a few other things.
Jen spent days working on artwork of Ariana, wrote why she loved her, and amazingly, became a finalist. She was then interviewed via phone by an MTV rep for the second stage of the competition, and a few days later was announced as one of the two MTV winners (there was another winner through VH1). All winners were permitted to bring a guest to L.A., so naturally Jen chose her older sister (another Arianator).
Turns out, they were never permitted in the building at all. An MTV staff member in a big tent said “You can’t stay here. I don’t know where you can go, but it can’t be on the property. Also, this neighborhood is unsafe so be careful out there.” At some point later, they were allowed into the parking lot, where all the winners and guests stayed, being shuffled from table to table as more “important” people appeared. They waited till around 7:30, outdoors, for the meeting with Ariana. They were all hungry and cold, and despite a huge party barbeque going on in the tent beside their benches, they were offered nothing but a bottle of water the entire time. Still, no problem – that’s life sometimes. Some folks care, some don’t.
Here’s where it gets shady:
Jen and the other MTV winner (a young man of 16 who traveled across the entire country for this meeting) were interviewed on camera by MTV to be broadcast at a later date. Before the camera rolled they were told they would be asked what it was like meeting Ariana, and they had to PRETEND that they had already had said meeting – even though the interview was taped BEFORE Ariana ever appeared. They were told what to say, almost word for word. I know Jen feared that if she refused to do this, she would not meet Ariana (though she was not told that).
That, my friends, is known as a RED FLAG.
After the bogus interview, Ariana was set to appear. First, she did an on-camera interview. We don’t know what it was about, but I’m wondering if she also faked that the meeting had already taken place. She then approached her fans without a smile – just an icy look as she toyed with her hair. She was surrounded by 8 to 10 assistants. Ariana stood by, with a blank stare, as the rules came fast and furiously from a staffer:
“You are not to present Ariana with any type of gift or anything. Give them to security and they will get them to her. You can take a selfie with her, but nothing else.”
Remember, these are not kids who interrupted Ariana during dinner at a restaurant, they are pre-screened contest winners who poured their hearts into their winning entries. The 16 year old boy had recorded a CD of beautiful violin cover versions of Ariana songs. It won the contest for him, and he wanted to present it to her.
It was taken away by security.
Ariana Grande, the superstar, then walked toward her three contest-winning fans.
Nothing. That was it. Don’t be fooled by the sweet smile in the photos below. Ariana gave that grin for each picture, but then it was gone again. She never bothered to even ask anyone their name. She didn’t inquire as to who the contest winners were, as opposed to their guests, or what they created to win the right to meet her. Shocked by all this, Jen, whom Ari had been so kind to in 2011, walked up and said “Ari, here’s a photo we took together in Vegas at the Titanic…”
Ms. Grande glanced at the photo on Jen’s phone and said, “Let’s redo that picture.” She said nothing else, so Jen retook the photo. No peace sign from Ari this time. Then Jen took out one of the drawings that won the contest for her. Kelly snapped a photo of her smiling little sister giving Ariana the drawing.
“Delete those pictures, please” was all Ariana said.
“Can I just keep the one of my sister showing you the drawing?” asked Kel.
Ariana turned to her security and ordered, “Make sure she deleted those.”
Then, Ariana Grande walked away from her prize-winning fans without even saying goodbye.
That was it. That was HANG WITH ARIANA GRANDE, as the contest ads had screamed.
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Jen meeting Ariana in 2011:
Jen meeting Ariana in 2014:
Jen being interviewed by MTV about 'meeting' Ariana:
What do you guys think of this?
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Member Since: 8/29/2012
Posts: 22,883
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AP and closed, as requested by Ariana's team.
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Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 3,766
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 5,639
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AP but I'm not gonna report this cause the other one shouldn't have been closed 
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Member Since: 3/6/2014
Posts: 13,097
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Quote:
Originally posted by SupahBass05
AP and closed, as requested by Ariana's team. |
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 4,209
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Quote:
Originally posted by SupahBass05
AP and closed, as requested by Ariana's team. |
Receipts? 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 19,418
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Quote:
Originally posted by SupahBass05
AP and closed, as requested by Ariana's team. |
Actually I reported it, since an Insider is not a reliable source so bye
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 27,745
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Quote:
Originally posted by SupahBass05
AP and closed, as requested by Ariana's team. |
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